Anti-Spyware Coalition Offers New Guidance to Users; Announces Speakers for International Workshop

WASHINGTON, DC and OTTAWA, ONTARIO --
The Anti-Spyware Coalition today released two new resources to help consumers and enterprises better protect themselves against spyware and unwanted adware. The coalition also unveiled final plans for an international workshop slated to take place in Ottawa on May 16.

The coalition's two new documents walk consumers and network operators through the steps they should be taking to protect their machines against adware, spyware and other malicious software. The documents -- "Protecting Your Network: Mitigating Spyware in Organizations" and "Protecting Your Computer: Detecting and Avoiding Spyware" -- discuss technological defenses against spyware; safe surfing and network management practices; and techniques for removing unwanted programs once they are installed. The documents are available on the ASC Web site http://www.antispywarecoalition.org/documents .

"Individuals and enterprises have a huge role to play in the battle against spyware and nuisance adware. Although technology companies are developing increasingly sophisticated tools to combat unwanted software, individual users and network operators need to use those tools and use them properly if we are to beat back the tide of spyware and adware deluging computers worldwide," said Ari Schwartz, deputy director of the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), which coordinates the coalition's efforts. "These documents continue the ASC's commitment to helping computer users protect themselves and their machines."

Michael Binder, Canada's Assistant Deputy Minister for Spectrum, Information Technologies and Telecommunications will keynote the Anti-Spyware Coalition's second-ever public meeting and the first to be held outside of the United States, in Ottawa, Ontario May 16. Binder joins some of the world's top spyware experts from academia, the public interest community and the high-tech industry to discuss the state of international anti-spyware efforts, emerging challenges and likely solutions. The full agenda is available online http://www.antispywarecoalition.org/events/may2006agenda.htm .

The Ottawa conference follows on the success of the Anti-Spyware Coalition's first-ever public workshop held in Washington in February. More than 300 people attended that event, which featured a keynote by Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras.

"As valuable as these workshops are to the online public, they also provide tremendous benefit to those fighting in the trenches," Schwartz said. "The workshops go the very core of the Anti-Spyware Coalition mission, bringing together the world's top minds on the subject to create better, smarter solutions to the problem."

About the Anti-Spyware Coalition: The ASC is a group dedicated to building a consensus about definitions and best practices in the debate surrounding spyware and other potentially unwanted technologies. Composed of anti-spyware software companies, academics, and consumer groups, the ASC seeks to bring together a diverse array of perspective on the problem of controlling spyware and other potentially unwanted technologies.

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